At Last
by Part.TimeLord-Part.Human
Summary: Hyuuga discovers that his best-friend likes Riko too, leaving him feeling hurt, jealous and confused. Does he finally pluck up the courage to express his feelings or does he continue to keep quiet, like he has done all these years?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Hello! Thank you for reading my story :) I really love this anime but I was a little unsure whether to write a fic or not but I was kinda bored (procrastinating) and so I decided to give it a whirl, lemme know what you think!

**Disclaimer:** Do not own Kuroko no Basuke or any of the characters mentioned.

It was a cold, winter evening; Riko, Kiyoshi and Hyuuga were walking back from the school gym after a long and gruelling training session. The other boys were too tired and decided to head straight home, thus leaving the aforementioned three who were on the way to Maji Burger.

"Ahh..." Hyuuga muttered happily, relishing the warmth of the establishment as he breathed in the heavenly smell of burgers and fries. "…food at last!"He shouted with joy.

Kiyoshi smiled and thanked Hyuuga for holding the door for him as he walked in and looked for somewhere the three of them could sit. Hyuuga frowned, "Are you not coming in?" he said to Riko, still holding the door.

"Urm," she hesitated, looking back and forth before deciding "…no I think I'm gonna head home, got quite a bit of work to do." She shrugged. Hyuuga tried not to look too disappointed before nodding, telling her to get home safe as he waved to her. He let go of the door and made his way to where Kiyoshi was sitting.

"Huh? Where's Riko?" the taller boy asked, looking behind Hyuuga as if she was hiding there.

"She had to leave." He said, slumping down onto the seat, yawning. "…looks like it's just us."

Kiyoshi nodded, turning his head to look outside the window. "Hey Hyuuga…" he asked quietly, thinking how it actually worked in his favour that Riko wasn't there, there was something that he really wanted to discuss with the boy.

"Hmm…" was all that Kiyoshi heard, he glanced back at the boy in front of him and noticed that he had his eyes closed and was rubbing his temples.

He hesitated slightly, before speaking again. "….what do you think of Riko?"

Hyuuga paused for a moment before opening his eyes and looking up at him in confusion. "What do you mean?" he asked, brows scrunched together.

"Y'know… just what do you think of her?" he asked again, hoping Hyuuga would catch his train of thought and where he was heading with this. But the boy in question was still as confused as ever, perhaps due to his fatigue and hunger. "Urm…she's cool…I guess." He replied unenthusiastically, not really knowing how to answer the question. "Why?" he said, wondering what could have made Kiyoshi ask such a weird and random question.

The boy's lack of response caused Hyuuga to look up again, he studied him carefully. It looked as if he didn't even hear him – as if in his own world. Feeling quite parched, he got out his water bottle and took a mouthful as he waited for his friend to reply.

Meanwhile, Kiyoshi returned to staring outside the window, observing what was going on in their surroundings, before smiling slightly and facing Hyuuga again. "I think I might ask her out." He said happily, resting his head against his arms.

This caught Hyuuga off-guard, he coughed and spluttered as he nearly choked on his drink. As he cleared his throat, his eyes widened as he never expected his best friend to say that. Once he was composed, he allowed himself to simply stare at Kiyoshi.

"You like her…" the dark-haired boy said gently, feeling slightly apprehensive to know the answer. _You know, you really shouldn't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to,_ he mentally scolded himself.

"I-I think so…" said Kiyoshi, with a smile playing on his lips.

"She's…." he began, wondering how to express his feelings. "…She's Riko, y'know." he smiled softly, hoping that explanation would be enough. If he had been talking to anyone else he would have had to elaborate. But this was Hyuuga; he knew exactly what he meant.

"Yeah," whispered the boy wearing glasses.

Hyuuga began to sense this unsettling feeling in his stomach; his hunger pangs had dissipated altogether and all he could think about was how he wanted to stop having this conversation. But he couldn't help but feel really guilty. His best friend just told him something personal, yet all he could think about was his own feelings. _What kind of friend am I?_

"Are you ok?" Kiyoshi asked, looking sceptically at Hyuuga who was staring intently at the table with a frown on his face. This shook him out of his reverie; he looked up and noticed the look of concern on Kiyoshi's face.

"Yes." he replied rather quickly, too quickly in fact, taking Kiyoshi aback for a moment. He was about to say something before Hyuuga carried on. "I was just thinking," he paused for a moment studying his friends face before continuing "… that if this is what you want, then you should definitely go for it." He said with a smile that sadly didn't his eyes.

Kiyoshi raised his brow just slightly before breaking into his signature grin. "Yeah…?" he breathed.

Hyuuga simply nodded, he couldn't trust himself to speak again knowing he'd say something stupid and would regret. This was why he knew he had to get out of there, quickly. He took out his mobile phone and pretended that he had received a text.

"Ah damn," said Hyuuga. "I've got to go, forgot mom wanted me home early today." He said as he motioned to the phone - lying with ease.

"Oh…" the taller boy said sadly. "Are you not hungry though?"

"Yeah… but I'll eat when I get home. No biggie" He shrugged.

Grabbing his water bottle and bag, he slid out of the seat. "See you at practice tomorrow." He said, waving back to him before leaving the restaurant the same way he entered; hungry and tired. Only this time he could add heart-broken to his list.

Kiyoshi watched Hyuuga as he crossed the road and walked away. He could sense something was off with his friend, but because he was in such a good mood he decided not to dwell on it too much. _It's probably nothing_, he thought. He got up out his seat and walked to the counter to order food, all the while planning on how he was going to ask his coach out.


	2. Chapter 2

Hearing the front door to her home close, she stuck her head out of the kitchen, holding a bowl in her hand, to see who it was. "Oh hello sweetie," she said animatedly before looking confused. "I thought you said you'll be home a bit later."

Hyuuga froze, trying to come up with an excuse, _seems like I'm lying a lot today _he thought as he remembered the fib he told Kiyoshi. "I was, but I just missed my dear mother too much." He grinned brightly, kissing his mothers cheek.

"Aww," she said, smiling sweetly before grabbing the newspaper on the table and whacking his head with it using her spare hand.

"Oww! What was that for?" he grumbled, whilst rubbing his head. "Because I know my son isn't that sweet." She stated matter-of-factly.

A small smile escaped from his mouth, "What's for dinner?" he asked, observing the various pans on the stove. His stomach growled as he took in the wonderful aroma of the different spices and herbs. His mother giggled, "Someone's hungry".

He nodded fervently. "Do you need any help?" he asked as he lifted up a carrot.

"No, no that's okay!" she replied, perhaps too hastily. _I love you son, but you can't cook to save your life_, she thought to herself.

He eyed his mother suspiciously. Sensing his questioning gaze, she quickly spoke up. "I'll tell you what you can do." He put the vegetable down and turned to face his mother. "Go have a shower, you smell terrible dear." She wrinkled her nose in distaste, and hurriedly shooed him out of the kitchen before he could say another word.

Shaking his head, he made his way upstairs to his bedroom. Dropping his bag on the floor and placing his phone on the desk, Hyuuga flopped down onto the bed before closing his eyes and replaying the events of today in his head. He remembered the look on Kiyoshi's face when he told him about Riko. _It wasn't meant to be like this._ He told himself, _I was suppose to wait until the perfect time to tell her how I feel and she would say she feels the same way and we would be happy and in love forever. _"Stupid Kiyoshi, "He mumbled, "….ruined everything." But deep down Hyuuga knew he couldn't blame Kiyoshi – it was his own fault. _I was too late. I shouldn't have been naïve enough to think she would wait around forever. _Hyuuga quickly wiped away the stray tear that escaped from his eye and turned his head to the side; before sighing heavily and eventually falling into a deep slumber.

_Bzzz_

_Bzzz_

Hyuuga groaned slightly, _what is that stupid noise! _He noticed his phone flashing. Annoyed, he stretched out his arm and patted the table aimlessly until he reached the device. Flipping it open, he noticed it said 'One Unread Message'.

**Aida Riko**: Come over.

He sighed, looking at the time and realising he was asleep for just over an hour. He lifted up his arm and sniffed before wincing. _Holy crap, _he thought to himself, shaking his head slightly before quickly tapping out a response and grabbing his towel- heading straight to the bathroom.

**Hyuuga Junpei**: I'll be there in 20

After looking at himself in the mirror one final time, he nodded to his reflection in satisfaction before making his way downstairs. "Hey mom, just going over to Riko's." he yelled, as he was putting on his trainers.

"Okay," he heard her reply. "Don't be too long."

He shut the door behind him, before crossing the road and walking over to his best friend's house. Ever since he was seven years old, Riko lived opposite the road from him. Initially, she wasn't a fan of the young boy and found him highly irritating and boring. But ever since that day, they had gotten closer and closer and inevitably became best friends.

_Flashback_

"Hey guys! Look who we have here…" said the young boy named Takashi. He yelled to his two friends and walked over to where a little girl was sitting.

"It's the new girl…or wait, is it a boy?" he said loudly, laughing with the other two boys.

Seven year-old Riko looked up at the obnoxious kid in front of her, before huffing in annoyance and standing up with her hands on her waist. "I am a girl, thank you very much!" she said in a matter-of-fact tone.

The bully snorted, "Oh yeah, so why is your hair short like mine?" They snickered, as he pointed to her short, bob-cut hairstyle.

She narrowed her eyes at him, "I don't know, maybe you're the girl!" she retorted.

Suddenly the boy stopped laughing, he was fuming; _how dare she call me a girl?_ Noticing a green coloured bag on the bench, he quickly grabbed it before Riko could stop him. "Give that back!" she shouted. But the boy simply ignored her, "Let's see what we have here." He said to his friends, chuckling.

"Give it back to her."

Takashi looked up and saw another boy looming in front of him, drinking from a juice box. The bully laughed and ignored him, not deeming him to be a threat whatsoever. "Get lost four-eyes." he said, before taking out Riko's lunch box from her bag. His eyes widened, "Hey everyone! Riko has a _basketball_ lunchbox!" he yelled. "She really is a boy!"

This caused a bit of a commotion, more and more kids from their class began to crowd them. Riko looked around and could see everyone staring at her; she heard murmurs and snickering. She wanted to run. And she was just about to but…

"What the hell!" The bully shouted as he looked down. He was currently sporting a large wet-stain on his cream-coloured trousers. Courtesy of Hyuuga who noticed the sad look on Riko's face as Takashi embarrassed her. In that split second, he realised that he never wanted to see that look on her face ever again. So he causally walked up to Takashi, as discreetly as possible, and squirted the juice onto his trousers – near the crotch area.

"Hey look everyone, Takashi had a little accident!" he said loudly, grabbing the attention of all the kids nearby, even alerting some of the teachers. All the kids were laughing and pointing at the boy, and before he knew it, he saw Takashi running away in embarrassment.

Feeling satisfied, Hyuuga picked up the items the boy dropped and walked over to where Riko was standing. He stood there, staring at the little girl, not really knowing what to say. He knew he had to break the silence so he said the first thing that came to his head.

"I like basketball."

Meanwhile Riko was still looking up at him in awe, she pegged him all wrong - he wasn't boring at all. _No one's ever stood up for me before,_ she thought to herself. _But…_ she quickly folded her arms and turned her head.

"I didn't need your help." she mumbled, pouting.

Hyuuga smiled at the young girl, "I know…. He just gets on my nerves." He replied, before nodding slightly and walking away.

She stared at his retreating figure before calling his name. Hyuuga turned around and watched her get something out from her lunchbox before running up to him.

"Here," she said. "You didn't get to finish yours."

Hyuuga stared at the small juice box in his hands before looking up at the young girl in front of him and smiled.

"Thank you."

_End of Flashback_

Once he reached the dark blue door, he knocked twice. He could hear movement and muffled voices from inside the house. And before Hyuuga knew it, he was greeted with the glaring eyes of a tall man.

"What do you want, four-eyes?"

Hyuuga's eyes widened, taking a step back from the door. Even after all these years, Riko's dad still managed to frighten the hell out of him.

"Dad, let him in." Hyuuga heard from inside. He sighed internally, grateful for Riko's input, he didn't think he could handle her dad's stare for too long. He slowly looked up at Kagetora, eagerly waiting for him to allow him in. Suddenly he heard a sigh and saw that the older man moved out of the way slightly, his piercing gaze still on him however.

He found Riko sitting down on the living room floor. The television was showing a basketball match but it was muted. _Makes sense_, he thought as Riko was surrounded by scattered paper and notes on the floor, _she was probably getting some ideas,_ Hyuuga deduced.

"There you are! " She said, grabbing his hand and pulling him down so he could sit next to her. He scratched the back of his head as he apologised for being late. "So what's the problem?" he asked.

"I just wanted to run a couple of ideas by you. You are the captain after all." She smiled.

The boy blushed slightly. _I really love her smile. _He thought, as he stared at her. _She's beautiful, even her small cute hands that are waving at me. W-wait, why is she waving at me? Her mouth is moving, what is she saying? Maybe I should listen…_

"Hyu…"

"Oi, Hyuuga!" the boy in question shook his head, pulling himself out his daydream.

"Yes…"

"Are you okay?" she asked with slight concern, "You totally spaced out on me just now."

"Did I?" he said, looking confused. _That's right, feign ignorance._ "I'm sorry, just a little tired that's all."

Riko shook her head and brushed it off, assuring him that it was fine. They then spent the next thirty minutes watching old clips of basketball games and scribbling down different ideas and plays that Seirin could use.

"Riko, I'm ordering take-away, what do you want?" This caused the young girl to jump up from where she was sitting and grab the phone from her father.

"What are you talking about?" the caramel-haired girl asked him. "I already cooked for us silly," she said, bouncing on her toes and smiling brightly, feeling rather content.

Kagetora, on the other hand, blanched visibly in fear. "Eh…?"

Riko walked into the kitchen and put on the oven gloves that were sitting on the table, before taking out the dish that was sitting in the oven. Her father walked over bravely and decided to see what his daughter had prepared for him. "What is it?" he asked.

"Lasagne."

He squinted, eyeing the concoction vigilantly, before looking up at his daughter and seeing her beaming face. He smiled, "You really shouldn't have gone to all that trouble."

"It's okay! She replied, skipping towards the cupboard to grab some plates.

"No, really." he mumbled to himself, wincing slightly.

"Huh? " She asked, trying to reach for a cup hiding at the back of the cupboard.

"Oh, no, nothing," he smiled, hoping she couldn't sense his unease.

Finally taking his eye off the dish, he looked around the room and noticed a grinning Hyuuga sitting on the floor, watching the whole scene play out. _Hmm…_ Kagetora thought – smirking to himself as an idea just came into his head.

"Hey four eyes, come on, time to eat." He said to young boy. _I'm not going to be the only one here who has to suffer. _

This managed to completely wipe the smile off his face, "Ehh…?" he stood up and walked over to where they were. He put on his best apologetic face, "No, no I couldn't intrude. Besides my mother alrea-"

"Nonsense," Kagetora said, interrupting him. _I'm not letting you get off that easy. _ "My beloved Riko spent all day cooking for us…"

Riko frowned, "It only took thirty minutes Dad…" she muttered.

"….you don't want to upset her now do you?"

_W-what! _Hyuuga thought, he turned his head to face Riko. _Damn! He had to put me on the spot like that. _He noticed Riko's big, hopeful eyes staring at him. _Ahhh, please, don't look at me like that… _he groaned internally. Closing his eyes for a brief second, he opened them and sighed.

"Of course not." He said, smiling softly.

This made Riko beam with happiness, before running off to grab a plate for Hyuuga. The boy himself turned to face Kagetora and scowled at him. Riko's father noticed and couldn't help but smile and shrug his shoulders.

Hyuuga simply shook his head in disbelief. _This girl is going to be the death of me._


End file.
